Stanford’s Jeff Inman is considered one of the top pitching prospects available for the 2009 draft.  He is a very good athlete that has very good stuff that does all of the little things well such as fielding his position and showing a good pick-off move to first base.

I have had the opportunity to see Inman pitch through a variety of resources, probably a half dozen times over the last two years.  After watching his season debut against Mike Minor and Vanderbilt, I got the chance to see him again last night, as he matched up in front of a small handful of scouts against Chance Ruffin and the Texas Longhorns.

I enjoy watching him pitch.  He has a loose arm and easy arm strength.  Last night his first pitch, according to the broadcast, was 93 mph.  He topped out at 94 and didn’t throw a fastball below 89, and the pitch shows more sinking life in the 89-90 range than it does in the 92-94 range.  He also throws an upper-70s curveball and a changeup that also sits in the upper-70s.  When each pitch is at their best, it’s hard to think of another pitcher in the country that has as good of a three-pitch repertoire as Inman.

The problem is consistency.  He will throw one pitch that is an absolute thing of beauty, and then on the very next pitch he’ll throw a straight fastball straight down the pipe, hang a curveball or hurl a changeup that doesn’t change.

Just take a look at the results from the first inning:  Travis Tucker led off the game with a solo home run; Brandon Loy flew out to left field; Brandon Belt ripped a double to deep right-centerfield; Michael Torres was caught looking on a sharp curveball; Tant Shepherd walked; and Cameron Rupp was retired on an infield pop-up.

While the Longhorns boast a formidable lineup, he didn’t toss a single one-two-three inning, although he did face the minimum during his final inning, the fifth, when his catcher, Ben Clowe, erased a baserunner Inman allowed via hit on a stolen base attempt.

My biggest question, is what causes this?  Inman’s composure on the mound reminds me of someone like Barry Zito, who looks and acts ‘California Cool,’ as if nothing gets under his skin.  If that’s true, that may work to a fault against him.

Part of it seems to be mechanical.  It appears as though his arm speed, arm slot and release point can change from pitch to pitch.  Changing that of course is a matter of hard work and repetition to establish muscle memory.

In Inman’s defense, his Cardinal teammates made four errors behind him, and there were one or two other plays that probably could have been made that weren’t recorded as errors.  That of course caused him to work harder to get out of innings, drove up his pitch count and made his pitching line look worse than it could have been.

Inman to me is a fascinating player.  Every time I have seen him his stuff has been consistently good, and he is a potential Gold Glover on the mound as well.  I would like to see him throw his changeup more, because it very well may be his best pitch, but it seems as though he can’t throw it as much because he doesn’t consistently get ahead of batters.  It’s not like he’s wild, because he does show at times over the course of every game I have seen him pitch the ability to command the strike zone.

If he pitched better, more consistently, he’s a top 10 overall pick in my opinion.  It may be a matter of him being drafted by the right team and being teamed with the right pitching coach for him to truly reach his potential, and it may be a matter of a series of adjustments for him to blossom.

Chance Ruffin on the other hand pounded the strike zone for nine impressive innings on his way to a complete game.  He had a no-hitter working until he had two outs in the fourth inning, and overall allowed only four hits while striking out seven, including the last two batters he faced.

Ruffin worked 86-92 with this fastball, consistently sitting 88-91.  His bread and butter pitch is his curveball, of which he throws two different varieties of.  The better, more effective version is a big, slow curve that is thrown in the low-70s.  He can snap off a few in the mid-to-upper 70s, but those don’t have as big of a break to them.  I did not see him throw a changeup, but he didn’t need one.

He’s the son of former big-leaguer Bruce Ruffin, and he along with Brandon Workman (who tossed a no-hitter last weekend) give the Longhorns a pair of sophomore hurlers that should help carry them deep into the postseason this year, and give them reason for more excitement in 2010.

PREP NOTE:  A week after facing Tyler Matzek is a preseason scrimmage game, El Toro right-hander Chad Thompson opened the regular season in the Loara Tournament in Orange County, California.  In front of approximately 25 scouts, many of whom were crosscheckers, Thompson looked sharped, sitting in the 90-93 range.  He went six innings, giving up only a hit and a walk while striking out 12.